Premier stresses promoting reform and opening-up, improving people's well-being in Guangxi

Premier Li Keqiang called for efforts to advance reform and opening-up, keep the economy running within a reasonable range, improve people's well-being, and promote high-quality development.

Premier Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, was on an inspection tour to Yulin and Nanning cities in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region from Sept 16 to 18.

Learning that Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Group has benefited a lot from national policies for tax and fee cuts, the Premier said such policies are designed to reduce burdens on businesses so they can flourish and contribute more to China's development.

In a talk with people in charge of several small enterprises cooperating with Yuchai Group, Premier Li inquired about their difficulties and emphasized the role of small firms in supporting large enterprises.

Small businesses, as well as individually owned businesses, help create massive jobs, and this relates to livelihoods and education issues for numerous families, he said.

The government will also continue to take multiple measures to help smaller firms address bulk commodity price surges, and rely more on market-based solutions to stabilize prices, he added.

Given the changing economic situations at home and abroad, macro policies should suit the needs of market entities to ensure the economy operates smoothly and steadily, the Premier said.

While talking with villagers planting sugarcane in Dongxi village of Luchuan county, Premier Li said Guangxi is a major producer of cane sugar, an important raw material for food and other industries.

He said the country will increase support in cultivating superior sugarcane varieties and a more risk-resistant sugar industry.

After hearing that a university graduate started a business near the village and offered jobs for 300 local people, Premier Li praised the move for offering them a balanced life of work and family.

The government should exert its best efforts in meeting people's new expectations as their lives improve, he added.

The Premier also heard a report on Guangxi's efforts in tapping into the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and visited the foreign-controlled China-Singapore Nanning International Logistics Park. China will further expand opening-up, remain a hot spot for foreign investment, and integrate more into the global economy with more stable industrial and supply chains, he said.

With its inherent geographic advantage, Premier Li said, Guangxi should seize opportunities, push its industries toward the medium-to-high end, and become a role model for high-level opening-up through deepened cooperation with RCEP members, especially Southeast Asian countries, within RCEP rules.

At AAC Technologies, a manufacturer of miniature acoustic components,the Premier learned about its development over the past decades. He encouraged the private enterprise to continue to innovate and improve its products, calling the private economy a big contributor to jobs and wealth.

He said the government will continuously deepen reforms, streamline administration, and foster a better business environment, putting different types of market entities, including private enterprises, on an equal footing to ensure fair competition and boost their development.

Premier Li visited residents at a community that provides public rental houses for many graduates from junior colleges and secondary technical schools, migrant workers and low-income households.

The small houses offer basic shelter to more people in need, he said, lauding their comprehensive functions and improved living conditions.

Affirming its achievements in social and economic development, Premier Li expressed his hope that Guangxi will harness reform and opening-up for greater economic momentum and vitality, continue to improve people's livelihoods, and take the lead among central and western regions, with regular epidemic prevention and control measures in place.

State Councilor Xiao Jie also participated in the inspection.